As the Detroit automakers were doing their best at the North American International Auto Show to convince the world that they're serious about turning their fortunes around, Japanese carmakers and tuners were doing their best to show that the sporty car is far from dead at the Tokyo Auto Salon (TAS). Judging by the buzz within the halls of the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, there's still a strong pulse. The turnout for the three-day event was on par with last year's show, meaning public interest in souped-up Japanese vehicles hasn't waned, showing us that there are still some die-hard car enthusiasts left in Japan. However, there were key players missing: Tuner giant HKS didn't have a booth (for the first time in the TAS's history), Trust/GReddy was a no-show because it went bankrupt last year, and, on the manufacturers' side, , whose booth usually occupies a large section of the main hall, was nowhere to be found.

Taking up the slack was Toyota. The biggest car company in the world took this opportunity to show that it's still serious about performance-oriented cars. The LF-A was displayed at the booth (is this thing ever going to see the light of day?), as well as a number of race cars. Despite suspending development of its future sports cars, Honda displayed a number of compact cars, highlighted by its Modulo sports line. Tuners, big and small, were also represented, with stunning products from Mine's, Mugen and J's Racing, but it was clear to see that the financial crisis is having a critical effect on the Japanese tuning industry because one major component was missing at this year's TAS: skin.

The TAS has been notorious for the extravagant display of models (the human kind) wearing skimpy, often suggestive, outfits. Thousands of young men attend the Auto Salon just to take photos of the girls — they hardly give the cars a second look. Yet this year, only a handful of companies had female models spicing up their booths. We asked one official the reason for this, and he said, "Simple: Many companies are cutting back on costs, and the first thing to go is usually the girls."

Though some may find it amusing that a measuring stick for the financial state of the Japanese aftermarket industry is the number of scantily clad models at auto shows, it's a genuine indicator. And it says that things are far from good today, with perhaps darker days still ahead. My biggest fear? The quality of tuner cars will suffer. One shop owner said: "While we were able to focus on one product, or one company's product, in the past, we now have to expand our focus on as many cars as possible to stay in business, including minivans and economy cars. That stretches our resources and expertise, making it impossible to create that all-conquering tuner car."

But some companies are still holding fast. Shops like Mine's (specializing primarily in cars), Mugen (specializing in Honda cars) and Spoon (also specializing in Honda cars) are sticking to one brand and continuing to produce high-quality products. Now we have to persuade companies like Nissan, Honda and to keep producing sporty products for aftermarket companies to tune. Judging from this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, enthusiasm in sporty cars remains high in Japan, and the tuning industry, though suffering, is still alive.